I eagerly await each new release in Naxos's series of the complete keyboard sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti, but this latest CD, volume 8 in the series, was special. It features a young Korean-born pianist, Soyeon Lee, making her recording debut and an auspicious beginning it is indeed. Ms. Lee has won a number of major competitions, including the 2004 concert Artists Guild International Competition and the Cleveland International Piano Competition. Clearly, these awards were well-deserved. Ms. Lee plays with a light introspective touch. Her playing is even and measured in the runs and arpeggios which are ever-present in Scarlatti. She uses the pedal beautifully in these works to create a highly atmospheric but not over-done effect. Her reading of the music tends towards the introspective and the romantic. Her performance was expressive, if subdued. If the quirkiness and idiosyncracies of some of Scarlatti's compositions did not come through fully, this was more than compensated for by the musical, thoughtful quality of Ms. Lee's playing. Although my main purpose in listening to the Naxos series is to hear more Scarlatti, this was a rare CD because it drew my attention equally to Ms. Lee's pianism.
For those new to the series, Naxos is in the midst of recording the complete sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) on what will be a lengthy series of CDs each recorded by a different pianist. Scarlatti composed over 550 of these miniatures for the Spanish court late in his life. The pieces are a joy in their virtuosity, inventiveness, Spanish rhythms, throbbing guitar-like passages, and moments of depth, lyricism and reflection. The Naxos cycle offers the opportunity to get to know these works beyond the small handful usually included on single issues. More importantly, the cycle offers exposure to a number of deserving young pianists, including Ms Lee, and it gives the listener the opportunity to hear different styles and approaches to this inexhaustible music. Hearing different artists play Scarlatti on the piano has helped me sharpen my listening skills for music that I have loved for many years.
In this recital, Ms. Lee plays 13 Scarlatti sonatas, some of which were familiar to me while some were new. The works range from the early, K.87 to the late K. 496 and include eight major key and five minor key sonatas. The selections give a better cross-section of the range of Scarlatti's writing that would be possible if the recordings were done chronologically. (The chronology of these works is, in any event, far from certain.)
To start with a familiar work, Ms. Lee takes the Sonata in C major K. 420 quickly, rhythmically and lightly. This is a march-like piece full of oddities but under Ms. Lee's hands it turns into a work of gracefulness. There is more than one way to interpret this music. To take another well-known work, Ms. Lee gives a lively rendition of the Sonata in D major, K. 96, emphasizing the passages of repeated notes and the many arpeggios. Her playing is both spirited and highly pianistic.
On the whole, I liked M. Lee's playing best in the slower, more melancholy works in this collection, including the Sonata in F minor, K. 466, the early and pensive Sonata in B minor K.87, the G minor sonata, K. 426, and the F minor sonata K. 462. Ms. Lee plays reflectively, introspectively, and plaintively in these works. In the faster, livelier works, such as the C major sonata, the D major sonata, and the B-flat major sonata K. 441, Ms. Lee handles the repeated notes, wide skips, long runs, and plunging arpeggios with full expression and technical command. She offers a highly musical and thought-out reading of Scarlatti.
Those who love Scarlatti and those collecting the Naxos series will want to hear this disk. For those just coming to Scarlatti, this CD, featuring beautiful playing by a pianist to watch, is a fine place to start.